


Cleaning Up Messes

by Millohoff



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Could Be Canon, F/M, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-19 05:18:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4734098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Millohoff/pseuds/Millohoff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Mrs Weasley enlists Hermione and her children to help her clean 12 Grimmauld Place during the summer holiday no one forsees what will happen. As Hermione and Fred attempt to clear out the Order's Head Quaters together things seem to become more messy and tangled than before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cleaning Up Messes

‘All right everyone listen up!’ Mrs Weasley said loudly as she walked past them. Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny were all lined up against one of the kitchen walls at 12 Grimmauld Place. ‘This place needs a good cleaning before it’ll be fit for anyone to use as Head Quarters let alone live in. You five are going to help me put everything in order’.

Hermione sighed inwardly. This isn’t how she had expected to spend her summer vacation. She had only been with her parents for a couple of weeks before getting a visit from one of the last people on earth she had ever expected to get a visit from. On her front porch Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, Britain’s largest school of witchcraft and wizardry, had been standing. He had explained the situation to Hermione and her parents. He had told them that Hermione would not be visiting the Weasley family at their family home, The Burrow, but rather she would be joining them in London. He had personally come to escort her there. Knowing that Dumbledore would not have come for her in person unless it was important Hermione had packed her things quickly and told her somewhat confused parents goodbye. When Hermione and Dumbledore arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place in a dodgy London neighbourhood, he had explained why he had come to collect her himself. He had made her promise not to tell Harry anything that was going on in the house. Hermione had been confused but trusting Dumbledore, she had promised him. It wasn’t until she came inside and was greeted by the Weasley’s that she began to understand what was going on. 12 Grimmauld Place was apparently the Head Quarters of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret group dedicated to fighting he-who-must-not-be-named. Hermione had hated the idea of not telling Harry what was going on, but having promised Dumbledore she hadn’t written him. Hermione focused her attention on the other people gathered in the kitchen once more.

‘But mum we want to be in the Order and fight, not clean up this pile of –‘, George Weasley was cut off by his mum before he could insult the ancestral home of house Black.

‘You are helping the Order, George. You’re helping make the Head Quarters fit for habitation’, she said, ‘And that’s all the helping you’ll be doing, is that understood?’ Mrs Weasley gave him an icy glare. She had not forgotten about the extendable ears he and George had been using to try listening in when the Order held their meetings in the kitchen. She had been absolutely furious with both of the twins and everyone had been walking on egg shells around her ever since she had found out.

‘As I was saying you’ll be cleaning out every nook and cranny of this house’, she said as she continued walking back and forth in front of them like a military leader preparing her troops for battle. ‘Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, as none of you have turned seventeen yet you’ll not be using magic’. Hermione heard Ron mumble something inaudible under his breath.

‘What’s that Ronald?’ Mrs Weasley asked in a dangerous tone as she stopped in front of her youngest son.

‘Nothing’, he mumbled and scowled at the floor. Ron had been an avid hater of cleaning since their second year at Hogwarts where Filch the janitor had forced him to clean all the trophies in the Trophy Room without using magic. The prospect of having to spend his summer holiday doing the same thing to an entire house did not seem to please him.

‘Fred and George you’ll be allowed to use magic’, she said. When she saw the look shared by the twins, she added, ‘But if you take one step, just one step out of line, you’ll wish you never turned seventeen, are we clear?’ She looked from one to the other and gulping they both nodded.

‘Now, it’s been a long time since anyone did any sort of housework around here –‘

‘Well you can’t really blame Kreacher for not cleaning the house. He’s been all alone here since Sirius’ mother died, and I really think that losing her was very hard on him’, Hermione said. She noticed how everyone around her sighed simultaneously. ‘What?’ She asked in her most indignantly voice.

‘Dear, no one is blaming Kreacher, but to say that this place needs a bit of cleaning would be a bit of an understatement, wouldn’t it?’ Mrs Weasley said seemingly trying to be overbearing.

‘I suppose so, but –‘ Hermione began.

‘Well now that that has been settled let’s talk work assignments’, Mrs Weasley said interrupting Hermione before she could begin talking about her views on the rights of house elves. ‘Let’s see. Ron, you can start on the second floor with one of the spare bedrooms’.

‘But mum there are like ten rooms on the second floor’, he groaned.

‘Then you best get started, hadn’t you?’ She said, ‘And you’ll take along one of your brothers. There is no way I’m letting the two of you work together’. She looked at the twins for a moment. She pointed to Fred, ‘You’ll go with Ron and your brother can stay with Hermione. You’ll be looking at the staircase dear. It needs a good cleaning but you’ll have to be very quiet’, she added. The staircase was in the foyer and whenever someone spoke loudly or knocked something over, which happened almost every time Tonks came to Head Quarters, the concealed portrait of Mrs Black, Sirius departed mother, began screaming at the top of her lungs.

‘Ginny dear you’ll help me in the dining room’, Mrs Weasley said. Ginny glanced at Hermione and rolled her eyes. Hermione held back her laughter.

‘All right everyone, let’s get to work. This mess won’t clean out itself’, Mrs Weasley said energetically. They all turned to leave the kitchen before she could give them any more chores. ‘Oh, and one last thing’, she said making them all turn around to hear what she had come up with now, ‘if any of you comes across something that seems out of the ordinary come get me immediately. You never know what might be lurking in the corners in a place like this’, she said. The group fanned out across the house and began their mission.

 

Hermione walked into the hallway with light steps. Ron and George walked past her up the stairs. Ron waved with about as much enthusiasm as someone headed to the dentist, but Hermione was more confused by seeing George going up the stairs. She was sure that Mrs Weasley had pointed to Fred when she determined who would be cleaning out the second floor with Ron. Hermione turned around.

‘I thought your mum told you to go with Ron?’ Hermione said in a low voice looking at Fred with narrowed eyes.

‘You must have gotten us mixed up’, he said shrugging, ‘’Cause mum pointed at George’

‘No, she didn’t’, Hermione persisted, ‘She pointed at you’.

‘Honestly Hermione, I thought you of all people would be able to tell us apart after all these years’, he said grinning, ‘After all you are supposed to be one of the cleverest witches of our generation’. Hermione made a displeased sound. She knew very well how to tell the twins apart. In fact, she was one of the only friends of the Weasley brothers who didn’t regularly mix up the twins. Even Harry who had known for as many years as her sometimes got them confused.

‘Well should we just get started on this then?’ She said coolly.

‘As you wish’, Fred answered and gave a little bow, ‘Your wish is my command’. Hermione snorted and turned her back to face the grand staircase. Both because she wanted to get a look at the cupboard and because she didn’t want Fred to see her smile at his silly gesture. The staircase looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a decade, which it probably hadn’t and Hermione wasn’t sure where to start.

‘Do you know where your mum keeps the floor mop?’ She asked.

Grinning Fred pulled out his wand. ‘ _Accio floor mop’_ , he said. A second later, Hermione moved just in time to avoid being hit by the mop flying through the air. Fred caught the mop’s handle and handed it to her with a look of pride as he said, ‘Anything else my lady?’

‘Well, we’ll need that bucket of water I saw back in the kitchen as well, but I really don’t think you should –‘

But, Fred had already said, ‘ _Accio bucket’_. As the filled bucket came soring through the air both Fred and Hermione could see that it was going to go wrong. Rounding the corner too closely, the bucket was knocked off course. It hit Hermione square in the stomach sending her flying backwards and soaking her clothes. The loud thump when she and the bucket hit the floor woke Mrs Black from behind her curtains and she started screaming, ‘BLOOD TRAITERS! FILTHY MUDBLOODS!’

‘Blimey Hermione I’m really sorry’, Fred yelled trying to overpower the screams of Sirius’ mother, ‘Let me dry your clothes for you’. He walked towards her his wand raised, but shaking with anger Hermione held up her hand.

‘Don’t. I’ll just go change them’, she said eyeing the wand in his hand with suspicion.

‘Don’t be silly I’ll just do a drying spell on them and you won’t have to-‘

‘Don’t!’ she said, ‘All right. Just make her stop while I’m gone’, she said and got up from the floor ignoring Fred’s outstretched hand.

As Hermione disappeared up the stairs, Fred kicked the bucket so it flew across the hallway hitting the portrait of Mrs Black making her scream even louder.

 

When Hermione came back wearing dry clothes, Fred had just enchanted the mop to clean the stairs on its own. It seemed like it was doing a fine job of it.

‘I’m sorry about before’, Fred whispered glancing nervously at the curtains in front of the portrait which he had fought hard to get back into place, ‘I should’ve just gone to get the bucket myself instead of using magic to do it’.

‘Yes you should’, Hermione said, ‘Just because you can use magic legally now doesn’t mean you should do it all the time’. Fred took a deep breath but didn’t argue with her like he usually did when anyone, usually Mr or Mrs Weasley, made the argument against him or George. Hiding her surprise, Hermione looked at the mop cleaning the stairs. Even though the grand staircase was still very dirty looking the enchanted object was making visible improvements.

‘Well now that the steps are being taken care of perhaps we should have a look at the cupboard?’ She said gesturing to the door beneath the staircase.

‘Whatever you say’, Fred answered. Hermione looked at him expecting him to add a ‘my lady’ or something mocking but he didn’t say anything. Instead he went past her and opened the door, wand in hand.

‘ _Lumos_ ’, he said and a propped his head inside the small space as light shone from the tip of his wand. ‘I can’t believe Harry actually lived in one of these once’, he said.

‘Me neither. And now he has to spend most of his summer with that horrible aunt and uncle of his’, she said feeling guilty about not even having answered the last, desperate letter she had received from him.

Fred popped his head back outside and looked at her, ‘There’s nothing you can do for him right now Hermione. Don’t feel guilty about having fun just because Dumbledore doesn’t want Harry to join us here yet’. Hermione looked at him.

‘How did you know that –‘

‘That you feel guilty?’ he said finishing her sentence. He was suddenly smiling again, ‘Well you’re not that difficult to read when it comes to that’. Hermione could feel herself blushing slightly and was relieved that Fred turned around again to look at the inside of the cupboard once more.

‘I think we might have found one of Kreacher’s hiding spots’, Fred said from inside. ‘There is loads of small portraits of family members that make Mrs Black look nice and welcoming.

Fred moved slightly, making room for her to step inside the cupboard. Because of his height, Fred was craning his neck. The space was very confined and when Hermione moved to look at the portraits her back was almost pressed up against Fred. She could hear him take a deep breath. Looking at what must be Sirius’ family members, Hermione could sense Fred watching her. ‘What?’ She said as she turned around with great difficulty. Hermione looked him in the eyes. Her annoyance vanished as she locked eyes with him. Her heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t noticed before but Fred had really nice eyes. They were a very dark shade of warm brown that resembled chocolate. Fred leaned slightly closer and opened his mouth to say something.

‘Hermione, I –‘

‘What are you lot doing in here? And why is that mop going ballistic on the stairs?’ Said Ron, who had propped his head inside the cupboard, making Hermione jump. Fred stood up without thinking knocking his head against the ceiling of the small room beneath the staircase.

‘Ouch’, he said pushing past his brother to get out of the cupboard.

‘We were just checking to see if there was something in there’, Hermione said as she came out too.

‘And that’s a two-man job?’ Ron asked looking at his brother.

‘What’s it to you Ickle Ronniekins?’ Fred said sounding very annoyed with Ron.

‘Oi don’t blame me for hitting your head. I was just going to tell you that mum’s made some sandwiches, but if you’re going to be nasty I’ll just leave’, he said disappearing into the kitchen. Hermione looked after him before looking at the mop on the stairs. It wasn’t cleaning anymore, rather it was spinning in circles. Fred followed her gaze and made a quick motion with his wand ending the mop’s spinning dance. Hermione looked at him.

‘Fred about before –‘

‘Forget it’, he said without meeting her eyes, ‘Let’s just go get some lunch’.

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent in silence cleaning out the cupboard and polishing the stairs. Whenever Hermione tried to start up a conversation Fred made up an excuse not to give lengthy answer. He also suggested that he take care of the cupboard while Hermione worked on the stairs. Hermione agreed even though she suspected that he had only suggested it because that meant they wouldn’t be very near each other. Why was he acting so weird all of the sudden? So, they had had that rather awkward moment in the cupboard, but why should that ruin the rest of their day? After hours of silence, Hermione had had enough. Just as she was about to tell him off Ginny came into the hall.

‘Dinner’s ready so mum says to just leave off for the day’.

Fred disappeared quickly into the kitchen. Ginny looked after him before returning her eyes to Hermione.

‘What’s up with him?’ She asked. Hermione shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t really feel like telling Ginny about the cupboard incident. She knew she would only read too much into it.

‘Well in any case. I would take cleaning with Fred over mum any day. Even if he is in a bad mood’, she said to Hermione as she came down the stairs. They went into the kitchen together as Ginny explained how her mum had made her read out what felt like the entire work of _Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests_ even though she had a suspicion that her mum had memorised the entire thing. During dinner, Hermione talked mostly to Ginny, while the boys where all listening to some story Sirius was telling which made Mrs Weasley look like she had smelled something awful, her nose all wrinkled. Fred kept glancing at her sideways when he thought she wasn’t looking, but Hermione noticed. After dinner, the others decided to play wizard’s chess with each other. Hermione, who had always found the game to be disgustingly brutal, declined the offer to join their tournament and sat down at the other end of the table to write some letters. She wrote to her parents to tell them how things were going in London leaving out the part where she was knocked over by a flying bucket. She suspected they wouldn’t appreciate in the same way Ron seemed to. After she had finished the letter to her parents, she wrote a short note to Harry. He had been sending her and Ron increasingly desperate letters but since they had both promised Dumbledore they wouldn’t tell Harry about the order, they had only sent back vague responses. Feeling guilty she quickly put the short letter to Harry aside and started on her final letter. The one she had been putting of writing ever since she came to Grimmauld Place. Much later, finally feeling satisfied with the letter, Hermione put it in the envelope and shut it. ‘Mrs Weasley can I burrow your owl to send some letters?’ Mrs Weasley was the only one left in the kitchen besides herself. The others had gone to bed after Ron had won the final chess game against George.

‘Sure dear’, Mrs Weasley said as she continued cleaning the kitchen counters which looked spotless to Hermione’s untrained eye, ‘But then you really should be going to bed afterwards. There’ll be lots more to do in the morning’.

‘I will. Goodnight, Mrs Weasley’, she said as she set out to find one of the owls before heading to bed.

 

The next morning began much like the last. Mrs Weasley gave them another lecture on cleaning Grimmauld Place before deciding that they would be cleaning in the same pairs as yesterday.

‘Hermione and Fred, I finished the last part of the stairs earlier this morning so if you would get started on the study that would be wonderful’, she said. They both nodded and looked sideways at each other. Hermione was determined to act just like she normally did around Fred despite how weird he had been acting since yesterday. He was probably just still ashamed by the whole bucket incident. The group went out to different corners of the house and agreed to meet up around lunchtime. Hermione and Fred entered what had to be one of the dirtiest rooms they had encountered so far. Every surface of the room was covered in thick layers of dust. They got started on the cleaning but the conversation didn’t come easily. After many attempts Hermione gave up. None of them spoke for a while.

’Soo’, Fred began, ’That was a rather long letter you sent yesterday. You’re not breaking orders and telling Harry everything that’s been going on for the last couple of weeks are you?’ He said breaking the silence that had lasted all through the dusting.

‘Of course not. Don’t be daft. Dumbledore told us not to tell him anything’, Hermione, who was polishing a side table, answered, ‘Besides you’re mum would be furious with me and unlike you and George I prefer not to play with fire’.

‘Don’t know what you’re talking about’, he said trying to look his most innocent but failing as always. So much mischief in one person just couldn’t be suppressed. ‘George and I always try to stay on mum’s good side we’re just not very good at it’.

Hermione rolled her eyes as he smirked continuing to polish the table with some on Mrs Weasley magic furniture polish that was supposed to make the wood shine for at least two years. Even though it might not look good for that long just cleaning it up a bit would be a serious improvement. Kreacher didn’t seem to have lifted a finger in the study for the last ten years. But that wasn’t his fault. He really wasn’t right in the head. And besides he had been left alone for so long without anyone telling him what to do, and even house elves couldn’t be expected to clean when no one told them to, could they?

‘So if the letter wasn’t for Harry who was it for?’ Fred asked, ‘You spent an awful long time writing it’.

‘If you must now it was just for a friend’, Hermione said turning her head away so Fred couldn’t see her blushing. But as always when she tried to hide something from one of the twins he caught on.

‘Oh just a friend. Perhaps a Bulgarian friend?’ He asked in a tone that was only half teasing.

‘If you must know, yes. I was writing to Viktor. Had to tell him I wouldn’t be able to visit him this summer, wasn’t I?’ She said. On the one hand, she had been disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to go visit him in Bulgaria. Hermione had been reading about it ever since the holidays began and it sounded like a wonderful historic country. On the other hand, she was sort of relieved. It had been quite clear that Viktor Krum had fancied her, or at least that was what Ginny, Lavender, Parvati, and pretty much all the other girls had been telling her during the last year where Viktor had been living at Hogwarts and competing in the Triwizard Tournamnet. But, Hermione had never really felt the same way about Viktor. Or at least she didn’t think she had. She had been flattered of course that he had been interested in her and it had been very enlightening to learn about another culture and another way of looking at magic and life in general. But she hadn’t been in love with him. He didn’t make her heart beat faster or take her breath away. And wasn’t that what being in love with someone was supposed to do for you?

‘He asked you to do that?’ Fred said sounding surprised.

‘Yes’, Hermione said and kept polishing.

‘Did you want do go?’ He asked stopping the cleaning spell he had been trying to put on the wallpaper to get rid of the last ten years of dust.

‘Perhaps. I don’t know. It would have been nice to get out of the country for a bit, wouldn’t it? Explore somewhere new, learn about a new culture, and everything’, she said and looked at him.

‘I guess’, he said, ‘I remember when we visited Bill in Egypt that summer when we won all that money. That was a nice holiday. I wish we could go on those more often’, he said.

‘Couldn’t you and George spend some of the money Harry gave to you on a vacation?’ Hermione asked. Harry had been reluctant to tell her what he had done with the money he had won a couple of months ago but after much pestering on her side he had finally given in and told her that he had given the money to Fred and George.

‘Definitely not! All of that money is going towards opening our joke shop’, he said. Hermione nodded. Just as she had suspected he might answer. The twins, who were usually very carefree and took life in a stride, were very serious about opening their own joke shop, and now that they had been given Harry’s prize of a thousand Galleons there was a very real chance that their lifelong dream might actually come true for them.

‘So if you weren’t stuck here this summer you would have gone to Bulgaria?’ Fred asked suddenly returning to the original topic of their conversation.

‘Maybe. I don’t really know’, she said shrugging her shoulders.

‘Why?’ Fred asked.

‘Well I guess I would be sort of nervous that it would just end up being awkward you know?’ Hermione said.

‘Why would it be awkward?’ He asked. Hermione rolled her eyes. Boys could be so clueless.

‘Well because I don’t really think I like Viktor in the same way that he likes me’, she said wondering if he would get the message now. She had started to blush lightly again. Why was it so damn hot in here?

‘Oh’, Fred said with a strange look on his face, ‘I thought you did like him’. He looked down for a second before looking at her with a puzzled expression on his face, ‘You always blush when anyone mentions him so I thought you might’.

‘It’s not that I don’t like him’, she said before adding, ‘And I don’t always blush!’

‘You’re blushing right now’ Fred said laughing. He ducked when Hermione threw the washing cloth covered in magic polish after him. ‘Blimey Hermione it’s good you’re not on the Quidditch team. That cloth flew like one meter above my head’. Lacking any good comebacks Hermione turned away without answering. ‘Sorry’, Fred said not really sounding sorry at all. However, he continued on a more serious note, ‘I guess you only blush because we tease you every time someone mentions his name?’

Hermione looked at him in surprise as she nodded, ‘That’s exactly why. It’s been going on for almost a year and it really stopped being funny a long time ago’. She paused and thought about it for a second, ‘Actually it was never really funny’.

‘It was a bit funny’.

‘It wasn’t’.

‘Okay it wasn’t. But what was funny was when it seemed like Ron was more in love with him than you ever seemed to be’, Fred said grinning. Thinking back on last summer when they all went to see the Quidditch World Cup and Ron was over the moon because of Viktor, Hermione couldn’t help but laugh as the songs composed about it by the twins came back to her.

‘Yeah all right that was fun’, she said.

‘If it helps I’ll stop teasing you’, Fred said on a more serious note.

‘I’d like that’, Hermione said and smiled at him. Fred smiled back at her, he opened his mouth to say something but he never got the chance. There was a sudden rattling from the desk. The moment gone, Hermione and Fred both turned around to look at the old piece of mahogany furniture.

‘What do you think it is?’ Fred asked her curiosity shining in his eyes.

‘I don’t know’, she said eyeing both the desk and Fred with suspicion. ‘But one of use should probably go get one of the adults to come take a look at it’.

‘Adults?’ Fred said sounding slightly offended. ‘Have you forgotten who you’re here with my young friend?’ Fred said once again referring to the fact that he and George, who had turned seventeen in April, were now considered to be legal adults in the Wizarding world and thus allowed to use magic outside of school.

‘You know what I mean Fred’, Hermione said tiredly. ‘Your mum will be furious if she finds out we found something that might be dangerous and didn’t tell her. It was one of the last things she said to us yesterday, remember? If any of you finds something that seems off come get me’, Hermione said echoing Mrs Weasley’s words. There was a rattle from the desk once more and Hermione looked at it as if it might explode. ‘That right there definitely seems off. What if there is some bewitched object in there? We could the cursed you know. I once read a story about a wizard who found a jinxed stapler. He had to go to St. Mungus and even with the healers’ treatment he never regained full use of his hands you know’, she said. Fred looked at her with blank eyes.

‘Ugh, you’re beginning to sound like dad’, he sighed.

‘Well then at least one of us is thinking practically’, she said thinking the battle was won. She turned around to go fetch someone, but she didn’t make it two steps before the already loud rattling noises suddenly increased. She spun around just in time to see Fred reaching out for the handle on the drawer.

‘No Fred don’t!’, she shouted. But it was too late.

Suddenly a shape that resembled a human came flowing out of the drawer. It stopped dead in front of Fred and looked at him with cold brown eyes. Familiar brown eyes. Her eyes. Because the figure in front of Fred was Hermione. Except it wasn’t because the real Hermione was standing across the room. And because this Hermione looked mean and she was beginning to shout louder than even Mrs Black.

‘So you think you’re a big man opening the drawer even after I warned you that it would be a stupid thing to do? You never think things through and that’s why you’ll never be a man. Yeah, you might be seventeen but becoming legal doesn’t make you a man, Fred. It just makes you a seventeen year old boy who doesn’t ever think things through. So your biggest dream is to open a joke shop? That’s ironic because the only thing around here that’s a joke is you. And you know what? You’re not even that funny. All your other brothers have qualities that make them unique, but you’re just a copy of George that is less smart, less funny, and less imaginative. You want to open up a joke shop? Fine! You’ll fit right in among all the stupid tricks. You’re a joke, but you’re not even funny. You see the irony? Or do I have to explain the complicated word for you, you..’

Fred had raised his wand half way into the air when he stopped dead. The words screamed at him by the Boggart made all the colour drain from his face. Hermione too was frozen in place. Seeing herself screaming like that made her sorry for everything whom she had ever screamed at in real life. I look terrifying, she thought. Snapping out of it, Hermione ran to where Fred stood petrified, took the wand from his hand, pointed it at the Boggart, and shouted, ‘ _Riddikulus_!’.

The boggart disappeared in a puff of smoke. Fred turned around looking at his wand in Hermione’s hand and back to the place before him where the Boggart had been shouting at him second ago.

‘I..’, he began. But before he could continue someone came running into the room.

‘Are you guys okay? I thought heard you yelling Hermione’, Ron said looking at her and then to his brother who was pale as a ghost and silent as the grave.

‘What happened in here?’ said George who arrived with a loud pop as he apperated into the study.

‘I…’, said Fred again but Hermione interrupted him.

‘It was nothing’, she said putting Fred’s wand down on the desk before them turning around to face Ron, ‘Just a boggart. But don’t worry we took care of it’.

‘If we don’t have to worry why does Fred look like he’s just seen something horrible?’ Ron asked.

‘He just saw a boggart, Ronald. Of course it was horrible. Don’t you remember anything Professor Lupin taught us about Boggarts? They turn into whatever you fear the most’, she said and glanced sideways at Fred. Why had the Boggart turned into her? Fred’s biggest fear could hardly be her yelling at him that he wasn’t funny, could it? Could Boggarts get the fear of the person in front of them wrong somehow?

‘I remember, Hermione. But if the Boggart turned into something that Fred feared why could we hear you yelling all the way across the house?’ He said.

‘Well he wasn’t suppose to open the drawer, was he? We had just agreed that I was going to get your mum just like she said we should if we found anything that seemed out of the ordinary. But Fred couldn’t wait that long so I got angry and yelled at him. Does that answer your question Ron? Or would you like to ask us some more?’ Hermione said feeling only slightly bad about lying to Ron. After all, he was being extremely nosy and she had a feeling that telling Fred’s brothers what had really happened with the Boggart wouldn’t really be a pleasant experience for either of them.

Before Ron could answer her, Mrs Weasley came running into the room, ‘What has happened? Is everyone all right? I thought I heard someone screaming’, she said looking around at all her children as if checking to see if any of them had been injured.

‘We’re all right Mrs Weasley’, said Hermione, ‘We just came across a Boggart in one of the desk drawers but I took care of it’.

‘You came across a Boggart and you didn’t come get me?’ Mrs Weasley asked placing her hands on her hips and looking from Hermione to Fred with the expression they both well knew came before she started yelling.

‘I was going to but Fred accidently opened the drawer before I could get you’, Hermione said. She looked at Ron standing behind Mrs Weasley willing him not to say anything about what she had just told him. She could see him battling whether to rat them out or lie to save their honour. Finally, he decided on the last and kept his mouth shut. Mrs Weasley looked from Hermione who was trying to smile innocently to Fred who still looked like he just been told something awful had happened to his Qudditch broom.

‘Hmpf, she said seemingly deciding that she didn’t have any proof against Hermione’s story. ‘But how did you take care of it dear? You’re not supposed to use magic outside of school’, she suddenly looked worried.

‘I used Fred’s wand so hopefully the ministry won’t be able to detect that the spell was cast by a minor’, she said. Mrs Weasley did not seem entirely convinced by this.

‘That was some smart thinking Granger’, George said trying to lighten the mood.

Mrs Weasley shot him a dark look, ‘Yes but if they had just done what I told you all to do if you found something that seemed strange they wouldn’t have had to think smart and break the law, would they?’, she said. She looked around at her children and Hermione, ‘Well I think that was enough cleaning for one day. I’ll go make us some tea in the kitchen and then you can all rest a bit afterwards. It seems like you might need it’, she said giving Fred a look of worry.

 

Tea was an awkward affair. Hermione and Fred avoided looking at each other. Ron kept looking at Hermione in a strange way, and George kept trying to lighten the mood with bad jokes that got worse and worse as his attempts at doing so failed. Ginny, who had been helping her mum all day again, was confused about what was going on with everyone and she kept pinching Hermione beneath the table and looking at her with raised eyebrows.

‘Later’, Hermione hissed at her finally making her stop. After they had all drunk their tea very fast and had eaten many less scones than they usually did they all went upstairs and into separate rooms. Hermione and Ginny went into the room they shared with each other while at 12 Grimmauld Place.

‘All right spill it’, Ginny said sitting down on her bed opposite the one which Hermione sat down on sighing. She told Ginny everything that had happened today. How they had discussed what might be in the desk drawer. How Hermione had thought they had agreed that she would go get Mrs Weasley. And how the Boggart had transformed in front Fred when he opened the drawer anyway.

‘And the Boggart turned into you?’ Ginny said looking both confused and surprised. Hermione nodded. ‘And what exactly did the Boggart do? Did it attack him?’

‘Well in a way I suppose it did. Not physically obviously but more in a psychological way. It screamed at him. You know really screamed at him. It was going on about how he was just a joke’, she thought back on the shrill voice that had been so much like her own. Only it had been filled with resentment and hatred. ‘It was saying that he wasn’t funny or mature or original in any way. It saying that he was just a bad copy of George and that he was the only one of you Weasley’s who wasn’t anything special’, she said.

‘Well I can see why Fred would fear being told things like that. It has to be hard to be a twin on top of having so many other siblings. Plus his trademark really is being funny so without that I’m guessing he would feel kind of bland’, she said, ‘But what I just don’t get is why he would fear being told those things by you in particular’. Ginny looked at Hermione for a while before raising an eyebrow, ‘Did something happen between the two of you?’

‘What?’ Hermione said in a voice that was just a bit too high pitched.

‘I mean that would explain it, wouldn’t it? If something had happened between the two of you. If Fred has a thing for you, I mean. That would explain why you would be the last person he would want to hear those things from. He wouldn’t want you to see him like that’, she said sounding enthusiastic as if she had just solved the mystery of a century, ‘He would want you to see him as someone who was brave and daring, wouldn’t he? Someone who would open a desk drawer without knowing what was in it so he could prove himself’. Hermione stared at Ginny. That was some theory.

‘Soo’, Ginny said waiting for her to comment on her theories. But when Hermione just stared at her she continued, ‘Has anything happened between you two?’

Hermione thought back to the day before when they had been trying to clean out the cupboard under the stairs. They had been pressed up against each other in the small space but nothing had seemed different until Hermione had noticed Fred looking at her with a weird expression on his face. He had started leaning closer to her when suddenly Ron’s head had popped into the cupboard to tell them supper was ready.

‘Well there was this moment yesterday’, Hermione started and told Ginny what had happened. By the end of the story, Hermione could feel how she was blushing all over her face.

‘Blimey Hermione he fancies you’, she exclaimed.

Trying to calm Ginny she said, ‘Nothing happened’.

‘That’s only because Ron decided to arrive just as Fred was going to kiss you or say something really important’, she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. ‘Also I don’t think mum actually told Fred to clean with you’, she continued, ‘I’m pretty sure that she pointed at him to go with Ron now that I think of it’.

Hermione thought about it. That had been her thought as well but they must be mistaken. Would Fred really switch places with his twin so he could clean with her? She shook her head. ‘You know he could have just been leaning in to say something random or brush dust off my shoulder or something like that’, Hermione said. Ginny did not look convinced.

‘Right’, she said, ‘Yeah because he wasn’t about to kiss you or tell you that he fancied you or anything like that because that really doesn’t fit with the fact that Fred’s worst fear is you thinking badly of him. Oh wait. No that actually does fit. Hermione you’re a logical thinker. Think about this logically. If you can come up with any other explanation, I’ll let this go. But if not you have to talk to my brother and ask him what is going on’.

If Ginny had asked Hermione two days ago, she would probably have told her that nothing was going on with Fred. She would have told her that were many logical explanations for why he had acted the way he did and why they had ended up cleaning together. She would have told her that there was no way Fred Weasley could fancy her, Hermione Granger. However now she wasn’t so sure anymore. None of her alternate explanations seemed to fit. The Boggart changed everything and being the logical thinker that she was the only possible explanation Hermione could find was that Fred really must fancy her.

Taking Hermione’s silence as acceptance, Ginny leaned back against the wall and said, ‘Oh Ron, always ruining things, isn’t he? I mean he’s my brother and I love him and everything, but he has just got the most horrible timing. But then again so does Fred, doesn’t he?’

 

Seemingly still worried about her son’s welfare, Mrs Weasley gave them all the rest of the day off. Hermione spent her time turning the pages of one of her new Arithmancy books without actually reading any of the words on the pages. Her thoughts kept returning to Fred. When she thought back on the week she had spent with the Weasley’s in London already, she began to notice new things each time. Small things. How Fred had helped her with her luggage when she first arrived. How he had held out her chair one day at dinner. How he had gotten her a new quill when he and George went to Diagon Alley even though she hadn’t even said she needed one. All these little things had been lost in the greater sea of worries on Hermione’s mind, but now that she was starting to remember them. Every conversation, every action, and every smile seemed to mean something else, something more. Giving up on the book, she slammed it together and set out to find Fred. She searched through every place she thought he might be. The room he shared with George, the room where Sirius kept Buckbeak the Hippogriff, the kitchen, but he was nowhere to be found. At last she found him in the room where she had least expected to do so. The study where he had faced the boggart. He was standing with his back to the door and he didn’t seem to hear her when she entered. He was looking at the desk and ran his fingers through his tangled hair. It was getting longer, she noted. Sort of like Bill’s. Suddenly he turned around and found her looking at him. For a moment none of them said anything.

‘Uhm, I was just leaving’, he said not truly meeting her eyes. He began walking towards the door, but Hermione blocked the space.

‘No you’re not’, she said looking at him defiantly. He wasn’t going to get away this time. She was going to get to the bottom of this once and for all. If there was one thing Hermione hated it was an unsolved mystery.

‘What?’ Fred said stopping his advance.

‘You’re not leaving. Not until we have cleaned up this mess Fred!’ She said.

‘What mess? We’ve cleared out the entire room’, he said confused.

‘This mess’, she said pointing at the space between them, ‘It’s been really weird and if you would just talk to me about that Boggart then –‘

‘Then what Hermione? Then everything will just magically go back to normal?’ he said bitterly, ‘You’ll just forget that it ever happened? Forget that you witnessed what was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life?’ Fred began walking towards her expecting to her to move. She didn’t.

‘Let me pass, please’ He said as he stopped right in front of her.

‘No’, Hermione said and looked up at him.

‘Why won’t you just let it go?’ Fred groaned running his fingers through his red hair once more.

‘Because’, she started, ‘I have to know’.

‘Know what?’

‘Know whether you like me or not. Whether I’ve gotten it all wrong’, she said.

‘It all? What do you mean it all?’ He asked.

‘The luggage, the chair, the quill’, she said, ‘The fact that you switched places with your brother so you would be cleaning with me rather than Ron’.

‘Is it so hard to believe that I would just be nice to you?’ He said sounding bitter once more.

‘Of course not’, she said trying to catch his eyes, ‘But it’s more than that isn’t it?’ When Fred didn’t answer she continued, ‘Yesterday in the cupboard you were going to tell me something weren’t you, something important?’ Fred took a deep breath and looked at her.

‘I was going to ask you if you wanted to go to Diagon Alley with me one day’, he said.

‘Well why didn’t you just ask me?’ Hermione asked. She suddenly felt lightheaded and she could hear how out of breath she sounded.

‘’Cause then Ron showed up and that sort of ruined the moment’, he said. Not convinced Hermione kept looking at him until he continued, ‘All right, I lost my nerve. Is that what you wanted to hear? I chickened out because I was afraid you would say no or laugh at me’.

‘You mean like the boggart did?’ Hermione said.

‘I guess’, he answered. ‘It was really stupid of me to open that drawer after you told me to wait’.

‘Yeah, but you wouldn’t really have been acting like yourself if you hadn’t’, she said. Fred looked at her with a hurt expression in his eyes and she continued, ‘Because if you had waited you would have been practical. But you’re not practical, you’re daring. You’re a courageous person who doesn’t perhaps always think things through but who always acts out of good intentions and mostly honourable ambitions’.

‘You think I’m brave?’ Fred said and Hermione could see glimmers of hope in his eyes.

‘Of course you git. You’re wholly impractical, but also wholly brave, adventurous, and fun to be around’. Hermione had never praised Fred like that before but she knew that she meant every single word. ‘You’re all the things I wish sometimes that I could be’.

‘Then I guess I’ll just have to teach you wont I?’, he said and grinned down at her and took a step closer so they where nearly flush against each other.

‘And then maybe I can teach you a thing or two about practicality’, she said. He laughed.

‘I’m sorry to say but I think that ship sailed a long time ago’.

‘Well, I’m an ambitious witch. I think I’ll give it a go’, Hermione said smiling up at him.

‘So I guess that the solution is that you can try to keep me on my toes, while I knock you off your feet’, Fred said and before Hermione could say anything, he leaned down and kissed her.

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my first fanfics so comments about what you guys thought of it would be greatly appreciated. The story was written during Camp NaNoWriMo - an awesome event I strongly recommend you check out if you haven't heard of it.


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